Strings again!

[Stahlsparre]

I just have a question for you other professional musicians out there.

I often compose music for movies and videogames, but I lack two important orchestral features...

1. The terrifying "sustained" kind of strings often found in horror movies (the seconds before the kill/threat/discovery). You know that kind that very efficiantley can express an upcoming event. They slowly pitch a little to give that "rising threat" sensation.

2. The kind of SHARP brass that sounds like that in Hanz Zimmers Gladiator OST in the fighting song. It can be used very dramatically to express the beat of the song...

Do you have any suggestions on good samplelibraries or even synths that can express this? I feel a certain lack of this in my dynamic game composing so any help here would be fine to me!

Take care and stay sharp! [H]

/Henrik Ståhlsparre

[mathis]

@Stahlsparre said:

1. The terrifying "sustained" kind of strings often found in horror movies (the seconds before the kill/threat/discovery). You know that kind that very efficiantley can express an upcoming event. They slowly pitch a little to give that "rising threat" sensation.

Pitch bend won´t work?

[Stahlsparre]

Oh yes pitchbend works of course! But that is not the problem! [[;)]]

The stringsamples in VSL themselves doesn't give that "creepy" sound. I think it's because they play the strings in a special manner to give that horrifying sound~

/Henrik Ståhlsparre

[mathis]

Hm, you mean "sul ponticello"?

Interesting question. Are there any sul ponticello samples out there?

[Stahlsparre]

Ah! Finally an expert! [:D]

I had no idea it was called "Sul Pontciello". Thx for enlightening me! [I]

I find that kind of sample EXTREMELY usefull when composing dynamic music. So back to the question. Is there any way to simulate this sensation with the current VSL?

[Peter Brown]

The Pro Edition Strings has Ponticello_Basic/Dynamic samples in the violin and viola - no legatos, as far as I've found, but the basics sound good.

Sul Ponticello means 'on the bridge' - you place the bow closer to the bridge than the fingerboard. The resonance is different than natural bowing, because of the nodal relationship between bow and string, but the harsher tone it produces (esp as you have to bow harder to make a clean, unscratchy sound) makes the music scary and cold.

check out the 'instruments' part of the website - strings/violin/playing techniques/right-handed/

or link...

http://www2.vsl.co.at/english/instruments/strings/violin/playing_techniques_%28right_hand%29/SUL_PONTICELLO.htm

hope this helps

Peter

[KingIdiot]

I think he's lookign for slow glissandi strings. That Slightly pitching effect that rises to a tone.

GOS ahs these, as do a few other libs I think

you know... I cant remember if VSL has FX fro strings... WOW.... I need to get off my rock n roll kick and get back to orchestral composing!!!

[Rob Elliott]

IN Pro Ed there are some 'creepy' glissandi's in the VL-14. I think these would work great.

Rob

[KMuzzey]

I would try the sordino cresc patches -- mix them with something like a tremolo cresc and i twould sound really cool.

[Ivan P]

I think the VSL strings with the legato patches can do perfectly well the Horror thing, I have in fact used them in the credits for a short film and the cliché worked very well, I don't have a web to let you hear an mp3 so you could find out if this was what you were looking for, but if you or someone has some web space I can send it, or email it, or wathever [;)]

Regards.

[Ivan P]

OOPS, I just read the complete thread... you were refering to the eerie glissandis? Then I have been mistaken, the cliché I used was more like legato portamento typical of B series movies :p


Regards

[Rich Pell]

Sonic Implant strings have TONS of thse FX. Also QLSO hae the rizing gliss strings..Rich

[Dietz]

I better move this thread to the Instrumentation/Orchestration-forum - that's where the insightfull people are! ;-]

/Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library